Every Friday morning on Talk Back, Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst provides a weekly report of felonies being prosecuted by her staff.

Pabst said she was especially concerned about a rise in family member violence.

“This week we had four domestically related felonies,” Pabst said. “We’re talking serious felony crimes that occur between family members and we have seen quite an abundance of these lately, and we’re reviewing one more domestic case that came over that has not been charged yet. We do tend to see an increase when there are dramatic weather changes, or when it’s really hot. These numbers have us very concerned, and we’re looking at trends so that we can allocate resources where they’ll be the most effective.”

Pabst was asked about why so many cases are resolved through plea bargains, rather than going to trial.

“That’s a fair question,” said Pabst. “Our system is designed to reflect that about 95 percent of the cases are settled through plea negotiations, and that’s a nationwide statistic. In Missoula, I think we actually bring more cases to trial than the national average. If we to take every one of these cases to trial, it would literally crush the system. You would need to hire a hundred more prosecutors, a hundred more public defenders, more court staff, more bailiffs, and then you’d have to find a hundred more jurors. The idea is to come to a resolution that will, one, protect the community, and, two, meet the needs of this particular defendant so that we don’t see them again.”

Pabst was also asked why the Missoula County Attorney’s office no longer uses the grand jury system of charging defendants.

“Montana statutes allow charging by grand jury in state court as well as federal court, ” she said. “But, it’s an option for charging, we don’t have to use a grand jury. It’s just a lot more efficient resource-wise for us to charge the way we do, which is to file information before a district court who reviews it for probable cause and then makes a determination. It’s a lot quicker, it’s a lot cheaper, and it uses a lot less resources.”

Pabst will provide a weekly summary from her office every Friday at 9 a.m. on KGVO’s Talk Back program.

After the resignation of State Medical Examiner Gary Dale, the State Crime Lab has been using a number of part-time and off duty autopsy specialists, or sending bodies to Seattle or Rapid City, South Dakota when they arrived for examination.

That will change in late August, as a new State Medical Examiner has accepted the position, according to Philip Kinsey, Forensic Science Administrator.

“Dr. Jamie Oeberst from Witchita, Kansas, will be joining us in the latter part of August,” KInsey said. “She’s in charge of the Sedgwick County Medical Examiner’s Office. She’s the Chief Medical Examiner there, now. She has 15 years of experience in that laboratory. Seven as a deputy, and then eight as a chief medical examiner. She really has a wealth of experience and background behind her, and even better, the experience of actuially running the office.”

Kinsey said the office is also rapidly filling the positions of deputy medical examiners, but is not ready to announce any names at this time.

“In fact, we’ve also posted positions for autopsy assistants, so there will be full time administrative and technical support for the medical examiners,” said Kinsey. Our hope is that by mid-fall we’ll be back in business like we were before.”

The medical examiner is in charge of providing autopsy services for the entire state. The Missoula office typically provides those services for the western part of the state and there are other medical examiner services for the eastern part of the state.

The Montana Department of Justice Forensic Crime Division is located on Palmer Street in Missoula.

Last Sunday began a most unusual homicide investigation that now involves several law enforcement agencies.

The body of 25 year-old Jake Colvin was found in a state of full rigor mortis in the passenger seat of an SUV that had been driven from Spokane, Washington to the Emergency Room entrance of St. Patrick Hospital by 34 year-old Leo Rodriquez. Colvin had been shot to death. Rodriguez was taken into custody after attempting to hide a .380 handgun inside the hospital rest room garbage can. He is now in jail on $100,000 bond.

Missoula Police Department Public Information Officer Travis Welsh outlined the agencies working on the investigation.

“At this point, and I say that because we just don’t know how this investigation will evolve, because the body was discovered in the city of Missoula, the police department is the lead agency in the case,” said Welsh. “The sheriff’s department has jurisdiction over the body as the office of the Coroner, and they’re conducting that part of the investigation.”

Both Colvin’s body and the SUV he was transported in were taken to the State Crime Lab in Missoula, where an autopsy was conducted, however, no results have yet been made public.”

“We have asked the City of Spokane Police Department to assist because we know that there are some connections to their city with this chain of events ,” Welsh said. “So, there are our three agencies acting collaboratively trying to determine what happened, where it happened, when it happened and most importantly, why it happened and who’s responsible.”

Because the incident began in Missoula, the Missoula Police Department has the lead in the investigation.

Public Information Officer with the Missoula Sheriff’s Office, Brenda Bassett, said her office hopes to have more information on the case by Monday.

Earlier today, July 31, traffic was slow on Highway 93 due to a crash a few miles north of Lolo.

“Basically, what happened is a Chevy pickup driving northbound on 93 there on that strait away and a Cadillac going southbound crossed over the turn lane and got in a head on with that pick up,” Montana Highway Patrol Officer Ben Pannis said.

Despite the collision, Pannis says there are no fatalities.

“There were two drivers involved in that portion of the crash,” Pannis said. “They are both conscious they went to the hospital via ground ambulance and were both conscious there in the hospital as well.”

The Montana Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, and Highway 93 lanes are cleaned up.

Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Lath Keith was a man with a lot on his mind on Thursday.

Keith was called Thursday morning to a motorcycle crash on West Fork road, where the rider had struck a deer on the roadway.

“Just as he was being transported to Marcus Daly Hospital, I got the call for a fatal rollover crash on Highway 93 South,” Keith said.

That call came in to 9-1-1 at about 11 a.m. and Keith, who was the sold Montana Highway Patrol Trooper on duty in the area, responded to the scene.

“It was a one-vehicle rollover,” Keith said. “The car was southbound on U.S. 93 when it traveled off the left shoulder of the road and lost control and the vehicle overturned multiple times down an embankment into a field,” Keith said. “There were four occupants in the vehicle. Three sustained injuries, two were taken to Marcus Daly Hospital in Hamilton and a third was transported to St. Pat’s. The fourth individual was a fatality. He was a male, and was not the driver.”

Keith said the car and its occupants were from western Montana, and everyone was wearing a seat belt. He said there was no indication that alcohol played a part in the fatal crash, and whether speed was a factor is still under investigation.

The name of the victim, a male in the 20′s, will not be released until his family has been notified.

The Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the crash investigation.

Keith said the injured motorcyclist was wearing a helmet and was treated and released from Marcus Daly Hospital.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox announced the availability of $20,000 in grant funding through the Montana Pharmacy Safe Medication Disposal Initiative on Thursday at the Florence Community Pharmacy.

Fox praised the owners of the small family-owned pharmacy for being proactive in becoming one of the first pharmacies in Montana to take advantage of the new program.

“When the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency changed its regulations in October of 2014 to allow local pharmacies to become prescription drug disposal locations, Florence Pharmacy owners and registered pharmacists Paul Brand and his wife Lavonne immediately got to work to make that happen here.,” Fox said.

Brand described the secure disposal unit that sits prominently in his small store in Florence.

“It’s double locked, with the ability to triple lock it,” Brand said. “We put a new liner with a serial number in it and as soon as it’s full we seal it and we package it for shipping. Two employees have to be present to sign at each step. When UPS picks it up we have to sign for it, and we can track it to know when its been disposed.”

Brand said if all pharmacies in Montana would join in the effort, the problems with misuse of prescription drugs would be vastly diminished.

“We had done some research, and there are 266 community pharmacies in Montana,” he said. “If everybody had done this already, we would have already collected about four tons of unused medications, so the potential impact is huge.”

The Attorney General’s Office will award up to ten grants of $2,000 each to selected pharmacy applicants.

All Montana pharmacies are welcome to apply for this grant program, even if they already have a prescription medication disposal setup in place. There is no restriction on or requirement for the size of the pharmacy; both independent and chain pharmacies are welcome to apply, as are community pharmacies and hospital pharmacies.

Grant recipients can use the funding to pay for the purchase of a permanent collection box, signage, destruction of collected materials, advertising the program, or any other medication disposal related expense.

The first baby to be born at St. Patrick Hospital since 1975 may arrive on the first day the new Family Maternity opens on Monday, August 3.

Dr. Janice Givler, Dr. Mark Garnaas, Dr. Jennifer Mayo and Dr. Robert Humble will the the OBGYN specialists on duty when the doors to the newly designed facility open. Givler said she has been telling her maternity patients that they might have the opportunity to have the first baby born at the center,

“We told them very early on in their pregnancies that we would be making this jump on August 3rd, and patients have been really receptive and excited about it,” Dr. Givler said. “They were well aware of the fact that if they delivered before August 3rd, it would be at Community Medical Center, and on August 3rd or after, they would deliver here.”

“This is an LDRP Room, and we have seven of these rooms, standing for labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum,” Schaefer said. “The mother is admitted into this room, and she’ll remain in this room throughout her whole stay. When the baby is born, the baby will also stay in this room. There is a lot of room in this suite for family members to stay. A couch folds out into a bed We are really promoting the who family unit stay together. We’ll have open visiting hours which will allow the family and extended family here at different hours of the day and night. We also have a three room nursery for the babies that need a little more nursing support, but mainly, the baby and the mom will be together in this room.”

The Family Maternity Center will have a state of the art security system, so that the baby and the families will enjoy a safe stay while in the hospital.

The first baby born at St. Pat’s was on August 19, 1881, and he last was born in 1975. Hospital officials have been contacting individuals who were born at St. Patrick Hospital prior to 1975, to let them know the circle will be completed on Monday, August 3, with the opening of the new facility.

The Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a missing 41 year old Stevensville man.

Sheriff Chris Hoffman said that Billy David Fox was last seen at the St. Mary’s Motel,3889 US Hwy.93, in Stevensville on Tuesday July 21st at approximately 9:30 p.m.

“Mr. Fox was reportedly seen in front of the motel with several tenants having drinks, he was riding a gray/black mountain bike,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman provided a description of the missing man.

“Mr. Fox is described as a Caucasian male, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 130 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. Fox is described as having a large tattoo on his back that says “My Cemetery Gates” will a skull, “CFH” on the back of his head. Fox is believed to have been last seen wearing light colored swim trucks, and a white/grey t-shirt with Dopey the dwarf on the front of it.”

Sheriff Hoffman is asking anyone with information regarding Fox’s whereabouts is to call the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office at 363-3033.

On Monday, the Boys Scouts of America made history by lifting the ban on gay adults as Scout leaders. Boy Scouts Scout Executive Gordon Rubard for the Montana Council explained his reaction from a local stand point about the policy change.

“I would tell you that the reaciton right now is that if you’ve studied this process, this is not just something that happened this week. The actual proposal got devoiced, at least the introduction of it was voiced inveigh by the National President of the Boy Scouts Dr. Robert Gates,” Rubard said. “Most of our leaders have been aware of the issue. They’ve had some time to process it.”

Rubard said although the vote was not unexpected, many leaders are ready to move ahead.

“I would say in the weeks ahead, it will be just a matter of just helping both our scout units and their chartered organizations to understand the policy. If there are questions, we will do our best to help them with it,” Rubard said. “At this point, we’re all systems go for the scouting program here in Montana.”

Rubard said despite the policy change, the ways to go about selecting leaders remains the same. To hear the interview in its entirety, click the video above.

Neptune Aviation announced on Wednesday that passenger flight service between Missoula and Billings will begin on September 3, 2015.

According to a news release from Neptune Aviation:

Neptune will offer two roundtrip flights per week to Billings every Tuesday and Thursday. The service is designed for Missoula-area individuals and companies that travel frequently to Billings who want to get there and back on the same day.

Neptune’s plans call for a membership based flight program offering 1, 2, or 4 roundtrips to Billings every month.

“If you or someone in your company travels to Billings at least once per month, a Neptune Membership is perfect for you,” said Neptune Aviation CEO Ron Hooper. “A Neptune Membership eliminates the pain, hassle, and wasted time associated with your current travel options to Billings.Neptune will get you there and back on the same day.”

Neptune Aviation’s FAA 135 Charter Certificate allows Neptune to fly unlimited traditional charters in North America,Hawaii,Mexico, and the Caribbean. Neptune will continue to offer “traditional” charter flights along with the new “scheduled” service to Billings.

“Our current FAA 135 Charter Certificate limits the number “scheduled” flights we can offer each week. When we launch flights toBillingsin September, we will start with 2 round trips per week with limited seating on each flight,” Hooper said. “Based on FAA rules, we have the option to offer 2 additional “scheduled” flights per week, which we hope to add to the membership program later in the year.”

Hooper suggests that frequent travelers to Billings act quickly to sign up for a Neptune Membership.

“Our first round of memberships will be limited to 25 individuals and companies. Based on the input of the Missoula community, memberships will sell out quickly. There is a real demand for flight service between Montana’s two largest communities.”

]]>http://newstalkkgvo.com/neptune-aviation-to-offer-passenger-flights-from-missoula-to-billings-youtube/feed/0What if Montana Was an Actual Person at a Bar? This Had Me ROTFLMAOhttp://newstalkkgvo.com/montana-person-at-a-bar/
http://newstalkkgvo.com/montana-person-at-a-bar/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 18:18:02 +0000Aaron "Tallest DJ" Traylorhttp://1075zoofm.com/?p=350090

Let’s say, metaphorically speaking, that the state of Montana was like a person in a bar. What kind of person or people would our bar be described as? This is entirely too accurate, you can argue it all you want.

A website known as Tickld wrote up some hilarious definitions of each state in America as if they were actual bar patrons, and before we share how they painted a picture of our state let’s see how they described our neighboring states:

Washington is a pale girl, very quiet and reluctant to be friendly to anyone except Oregon. She has glasses and a couple books, and isn’t drinking because she’s enjoying a cup of coffee she got from her favorite place on the way here. She loves hiking with her boyfriend and watching indie movies and documentaries on Netflix. She suddenly yells at New Jersey for throwing a napkin on the floor and not in the correct recycling bin.

Moving next door to the Gem State:

Idahois drinking Keystone Light and pretending they are part of the South.

Too true. Too true. You ready for us? Brace yourself…

Montana has to be two different people. Eastern Montana is a cowboy drinking Budweiser and gets into a fight with Wyoming over sheep vs. cattle, but this happens every week and they make up afterwards. Western Montana, on the other hand, is a hipster/hippie throwback with dreadlocks who drinks craft beer or PBR and absolutely reeks of marijuana.

Hell yes. Sorry, deny all you want, but this is one of those moments where the writer of this satire article walks off the stage after saying “boom” and drops the mic.

Oh, but wait, there’s more. Check out the rest of the states descriptions here.

]]>http://newstalkkgvo.com/montana-person-at-a-bar/feed/0ThinkstockMontana Radio DJ's React to Butte Semi-Truck World Record Jumphttp://newstalkkgvo.com/montana-radio-djs-react-to-butte-semi-truck-world-record-jump/
http://newstalkkgvo.com/montana-radio-djs-react-to-butte-semi-truck-world-record-jump/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 17:45:02 +0000Aaron "Tallest DJ" Traylorhttp://1075zoofm.com/?p=350078A stunt driver named Gregg Godfrey set a new world record at an event in Montana over the weekend, by jumping a tractor-trailer 166 FEET. The previous record was 88 feet, so he doubled it.

Griz Nation has been waiting with baited breath to know who will be the next Montana-grown player to wear the legact number 37 jersey, handed down from former Griz Zack Wagenmann. That question was answered on Sunday.

It’s junior defensive tackle, and Helena native Caleb Kidder.

“He got back from Arizona, because he’s back there in training camp (with the Arizona Cardinals) and he called me and asked me if I could come and work out with him on the field Sunday morning,” Kidder said. “I just met with him, and he asked me if I wanted to wear the jersey and I said ‘heck, yeah!’ ”

Kidder said wearing the number 37 jersey was always a dream growing up, being a die-hard Grizzly fan.

“It’s such a great honor to wear that jersey out there,” he said. “I’ll wear it with pride and honor, but when it comes right down to it, it’s just another number out there. I’m playing for my brothers, I’m playing for the city of Missoula and the State of Montana. When it comes down to it, I’m just out there to win, so I’m pretty excited.”

Wagenmann inherited the number from former Grizzly linebacker Jordan Tripp, who now plays for the Miami Dolphins.

The annual Testicle Festival at Rock Creek Lodge is this weekend, and law enforcement says they’re ready for whatever challenges may come their way.

Public Information Officer with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, Brenda Bassett said authorities are reissuing a wanted poster from 2005, in an attempted homicide case.

“Detectives are still seeking a suspect from that event, so they just want to revisit that and see if anyone can come forward and give any additional details that can hopefully lead to an arrest,” Bassett said. “The suspect is unknown, but we do have a description. He is a white male, standing about 5′ 11″ and weighing about 225 pounds at the time of the incident. So, of course, that description may have changed, but we’re just hoping that if a witness was there that they might come forward and help us solve this case.”

Bassett and Sergeant Shawn Smalley of the Montana Highway Patrol echo the same sentiment, both agencies will be out in force at the Testicle Festival this weekend.

Smalley said extra patrols and a special unit will be deployed near Rock Creek for all party goers to plainly see.

“We’ll be out in force,” Smalley said. “We’ll have extra troopers on duty and we’ve also brought our SETT, our Special Enforcement Traffic Team, and we’ve also opened up more overtime so that troopers who are off can put in overtime hours if they want to. Our goal is to saturate the area and make sure that we don’t have people drinking and driving.”

A DUI crash in 2012 killed a mother and her eight year-old child who were traveling from Washington State, and were struck by a drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 90.

The man who drove a dead body from Spokane to Missoula’s St. Patrick Hospital, Leo Antonio Rodriguez, 34, appeared in Missoula Justice Court via video Tuesday afternoon from the Missoula County Jail, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm..

The dead man, identified earlier in the day as Jake Colvin, 25, was killed as the result of a gunshot wound, and was discovered in the passenger seat of the Chevy Suburban, according to court records, already in a state of rigor mortis. Officers noted that Rodriguez had exited the vehicle with Colvin’s body inside, and gone into the hospital’s rest room. A search discovered that Rodriguez had hidden a .380 handgun inside a trash receptacle.

At his court appearance, Deputy Missoula County Attorney Selene Koepke asked substitute Justice of the Peace Anthony Vannatta for a substantial bail.

“The State is recommending a bail of $100,000,” Koepke said. “The State has learned that the defendant has had extensive gang activity in California and has been to prison there several times, and has a lengthy criminal record. At the time of his arrest the defendant admitted that he was using meth and heroin, and the state believes that the defendant is not one who abides by society’s laws or court orders. Because he has no ties to Missoula, the state requests a bond of $100,000.”

Rodriguez, through the public defender asked for a significantly lower bail amount, however, Koepke gave the judge more important information regarding the defendant.

“The State should also point out that the city police and the Spokane Police Department are actively investigating this as a homicide charge,” she said.

Judge Vannatta set bail at $100,000, and Rodriguez was returned to the Missoula County Jail.

Several questions remain surrounding this incident.

Why did Rodriguez drive the victim’s body all the way from Spokane to Missoula? Was there a drug connection? Was Colvin shot en route to Missoula and died on the way? How many times was he shot, and where?

The SUV has been taken to the State Crime Lab, and in addition, Colvin’s body has undergone an autopsy to determine the exact cause and manner of death, but those details have not yet been made available.

Both Missoula and Spokane authorities are continuing their investigation.

After months of back-and-forth, the National Football League has decided not to shorten Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for tampering with game balls prior to January’s AFC Championship game. The league released a statement announcing its decision Tuesday afternoon, specifically citing Brady’s decision to destroy the cellphone he had been using when the alleged infractions occurred, which the NFL claimed could have held evidence of Brady’s guilt:

The evidence fully supports my findings that (1) Mr. Brady participated in a scheme to tamper with the game balls after they had been approved by the game officials for use in the AFC Championship Game and (2) Mr. Brady willfully obstructed the investigation by, among other things, affirmatively arranging for destruction of his cellphone knowing that it contained potentially relevant information that had been requested by the investigators. All of this indisputably constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity of, and public confidence in, the game of professional football.

The controversy, known as “Deflategate,” erupted just prior to the Super Bowl matchup between Brady’s New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Several of the footballs used by Brady during the previous game were found to have been underinflated, enough below the league-approved guidelines that it may have made it easier for Brady to throw and for his receivers to catch, particularly in a rain-affected game like the AFC Championship.

Brady and the Patriots denied any intentional wrongdoing, and many figured that Goodell’s initial decision to suspend the star quarterback for the first four games of the 2015-16 season would be cut back to two games or possibly thrown out altogether. But settlement talks between Brady and the NFL broke down over the last few days. The NFL Players Association may decide to take the league to court and sue for Brady’s reinstatement, but at the moment the union is reviewing the NFL’s official statement.

As of mid-Tuesday afternoon, Brady and the Patriots have yet to respond.